Subregional economic cooperation and integration play a vital role in the future of Asia and the Pacific in helping promote peace among nations, increase prosperity, and reduce poverty.

The Greater Mekong Subregion Program is helping create economic opportunities that will bring peace and prosperity to about 300 million people in the subregion

Since 1992, the pioneering initiative known as the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program, or GMS Program for short, has shown us the benefits that subregional cooperation can bring. The six countries that share the Mekong River—Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam—are together reaping the benefits of increased connectivity, competitiveness, and a greater sense of community that would not have been possible two decades ago.

The GMS Program’s success is evident in the progress being made in the 11 flagship programs. These initiatives are helping to knit the subregion together by building vital infrastructure links; developing policies to overcome market constraints and promote trade, tourism, and investment; and creating initiatives to build capacity and institutions to better manage the changes taking place in the subregion now—and in the future. Governments in the subregion have worked hard to make the vision of “borders without barriers” a reality through initiatives to streamline procedures such as the Cross-Border Transport Agreement. They are helping mitigate the ill effects of greater openness, for instance, with initiatives to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, as well as human trafficking.

The GMS Program also highlights the importance of the subregion’s environment with initiatives such as the Core Environment Program that will help protect critical ecosystems in the GMS. As the GMS Program continues to gather momentum, the Asian Development Bank remains proudly committed to supporting the Mekong Subregion’s long-term development and helping to create the opportunities that will bring prosperity with equity to about 300 million people of the GMS.

Haruhiko Kuroda

President

Asian Development Bank

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